Twenty five thousand people were crammed into the Fortress. Every single one of them was wearing red. There were flags. There were flares. There were grown men crying before the game even started.

Michael Sterling stood in the tunnel. He adjusted his tie.

Arthur Milton stood next to him. The old scout looked surprisingly calm. He was still wearing his wedding ring from yesterday. He twisted it round and round on his finger.

"Do you hear that noise Boss?" Arthur asked shouting over the roar. "That is the sound of hope. It is a dangerous thing."

"It is not hope Arthur," Michael shouted back. "It is belief. They believe in us."

The referee blew his whistle. The captains walked out.

Danny Fletcher led the team. He looked at the tunnel exit. He took a deep breath. Behind him stood the monsters. Diego Nunez was slapping his own face to wake up. Kenji Sato was jumping up and down. Kai Sora was yawning.

They walked out into the sunlight.

The noise exploded.

BARNSLEY! BARNSLEY! BARNSLEY!

Michael walked to the dugout. He looked up at the Director Box. He saw a woman in a colorful dress waving a giant Uruguayan flag.

"That is Diego's mother," Michael smiled. "She looks ready to fight."

"She probably is," Arthur chuckled. "She threw a shoe at the security guard earlier because he checked her bag."

KICKOFF

The game began.

Middlesbrough were eighth in the league. They had nothing to play for. Michael hoped they would be on the beach. He hoped they would be lazy.

He was wrong.

Middlesbrough played with freedom. They were relaxed. And relaxed football players are dangerous.

Minute 10.

A Middlesbrough midfielder danced past Finn Riley. He slipped a pass through to their striker Archer.

Archer was fast. He sprinted towards the goal.

"Block him!" Michael screamed.

Shaun Higgins threw himself in the way. The Butcher slid across the grass.

THUD!

Archer shot. The ball hit Higgins in the leg and deflected wide.

"Wake up!" Higgins roared at his teammates. "Do not let them play!"

Minute 20.

News began to filter through the stadium. The fans were checking their phones. A murmur of panic spread through the stands like a virus.

Leeds United had scored.

Leeds 1. Southampton 0.

As it stood Leeds were second. Barnsley were third.

"They know," Arthur whispered looking at the crowd. "The fans know."

"We need a goal," Michael said pacing the technical area. "We cannot draw. We have to win."

But the goal did not come.

Middlesbrough defended well. They packed the box. Every time Isaiah King tried to dribble he ran into a wall of red shirts. Every time Kai Sora tried to pass the angle was blocked.

Minute 40.

Barnsley were getting frustrated.

Isaiah King got the ball on the wing. He tried to do a rainbow flick over the defender. It failed. The ball bounced out for a throw in.

The crowd groaned.

"Simple!" Michael yelled. "Keep it simple Isaiah!"

Isaiah threw his hands up in the air. He looked stressed. He was just sixteen. The weight of the town was on his shoulders.

HALFTIME

0 to 0.

The locker room was silent. The players sat with their heads down. They could hear the crowd muttering outside.

Michael stood in the center of the room. He looked at them.

He saw fear.

"Leeds are winning 2 to 0," Michael said. His voice was calm.

The players looked up. This was bad news.

"That means a draw is useless," Michael continued. "That means we lose."

He walked over to Diego Nunez.

"Diego. Your mother is watching. Is she worried?"

Diego shook his head. "My mother is never worried Boss. She says worry is for people who cannot fight."

"Exactly," Michael said.

He looked at Kenji Sato.

"Kenji. You have run six kilometers in the first half. Are you tired?"

Kenji stood up and bowed. "I am just warming up Sterling san. My battery is at ninety percent."

Michael smiled. He looked at Kai Sora.

Kai was lying on the bench with a towel over his eyes.

"Kai," Michael said.

Kai lifted the towel. "Yes Boss?"

"It is boring out there," Michael said. "0 to 0 is a boring score. I thought you hated boring."

Kai sat up. He cracked his neck. "It is very boring. They tackle too much. They run too much. It is annoying."

"So fix it," Michael said. "Make it fun."

Kai smirked. A lazy arrogant smirk. "Okay. I will fix it."

SECOND HALF

The teams walked back out. The atmosphere had changed. The fear was gone. Replaced by desperation.

"ATTACK! ATTACK! ATTACK!" the fans chanted.

Minute 60.

Barnsley poured forward. They threw everyone up the pitch.

Higgins was playing as a striker. Diego was in the midfield. It was chaos.

But the ball would not go in.

Danny Fletcher hit the post. Isaiah King had a shot cleared off the line.

It felt like a curse.

Minute 75.

Time was running out. fifteen minutes left.

If they did not score they stayed in the Championship. They went to the playoffs.

Michael looked at Arthur. The old man was pale. He was gripping his cane so hard his knuckles were white.

"It is not happening Boss," Arthur whispered. "The gods are against us."

"No," Michael said. "We do not need gods. We have monsters."

Minute 82.

Middlesbrough had a corner. They were trying to spoil the party.

The ball came in high.

Sam Jones caught it.

"GO!" Michael screamed. "NOW!"

Sam did not wait. He threw the ball long. A massive throw.

It landed at the feet of Kenji Sato.

The Engine turned. He saw space.

Kenji ran.

He ran past one midfielder. He ran past another. His little legs were a blur.

"GO KENJI!" the crowd screamed.

Kenji reached the halfway line. He was tired. His lungs were burning. But he remembered his promise. I will run for you.

He saw Kai Sora.

Kai was standing in the middle of the pitch. He was not running. He was waiting.

Kenji passed the ball to Kai.

The Middlesbrough defense rushed towards Kai. They wanted to crush him.

Kai did not panic. He did not pass.

He did something nobody expected.

He started to dribble.

Kai Sora. The man who hated running. Was dribbling.

He glided past the first defender. He dropped his shoulder and sent the second defender the wrong way.

He was twenty five yards out.

The crowd stood up.

Kai looked at the goal. He saw the goalkeeper was nervous.

But Kai did not shoot.

He saw movement.

A flash of lightning on the right.

Isaiah King.

Kai played a reverse pass. It was a pass that defied geometry. It went through three defenders and landed perfectly in the path of Isaiah.

Isaiah was inside the box.

He took a touch.

He looked up.

He saw Danny Fletcher at the back post.

Danny. The Prince. The boy who missed the penalty.

Isaiah squared it.

The ball rolled across the face of the goal. The goalkeeper dived. He missed it.

Time stopped.

The ball arrived at Danny Fletcher.

The goal was open.

Danny did not smash it. He did not blast it.

He just tapped it.

GOAL

The net rippled.

For a split second there was silence. The brain needed time to process the miracle.

Then.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The Fortress detonated.

It was not a cheer. It was a sonic boom.

Michael was knocked over. Arthur Milton jumped on his back. The bench cleared. The players sprinted onto the pitch.

Danny Fletcher did not run. He fell to his knees. He covered his face. He was crying.

Isaiah King jumped on him. Diego Nunez arrived and lifted both of them into the air like they were toys.

1 to 0.

"HOLD IT!" Michael screamed scrambling to his feet. "HOLD THE LINE!"

Minute 90.

The fourth official held up the board.

5 MINUTES ADDED TIME

Five minutes to survive. Five minutes to reach the promised land.

Middlesbrough launched the ball forward.

"HEAD IT!" Michael yelled.

Diego Nunez rose. He jumped higher than the striker. He headed the ball fifty yards away.

"VAMOS!" Diego roared beating his chest.

Minute 93.

Middlesbrough attacked again. Their winger crossed the ball.

It was a dangerous ball.

Shaun Higgins was there. The Butcher threw his body in front of the shot. It hit him in the face. He did not care. He cleared it.

Minute 94.

Kenji Sato won a tackle. He fell over. He cramped up.

"Stay down!" Kai shouted. "Sleep Kenji! Sleep!"

Minute 95.

Sam Jones had the ball. He held it. He looked at the referee.

"BLOW THE WHISTLE!" the stadium screamed.

Sam kicked it long. The ball flew high into the blue sky.

The referee looked at his watch. He put the whistle to his lips.

PHWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET

It was over.

The roar was so loud Michael could not hear his own thoughts.

Fans poured onto the pitch. It was a sea of red.

Michael stood in the technical area. He did not move. He just watched.

He saw Diego Nunez hugging his mother who had somehow jumped over the advertising boards.

He saw Kenji Sato bowing to the crowd while crying.

He saw Isaiah King sitting on the crossbar waving a flag.

He saw Kai Sora lying in the center circle looking at the sky with a peaceful smile.

And he saw Danny Fletcher. The captain. Being carried on the shoulders of the fans.

"We did it," Arthur Milton rasped. The old man was weeping openly. "We really did it Boss."

Michael put his arm around Arthur. "We did it Arthur."

He felt a vibration in his pocket.

It was the System.

Michael pulled out his phone. The screen was glowing gold. Not blue. Gold.

[SEASON COMPLETE]

[OBJECTIVE: PROMOTION ACHIEVED]

[LEAGUE POSITION: 2ND]

[REWARD: PREMIER LEAGUE STATUS]

And then the mystery reward unlocked.

[BONUS REWARD UNLOCKED]

[ITEM: THE EYES OF THE FOUNDER]

[DESCRIPTION: YOU CAN NOW SEE THE 'TRUE VALUE' OF ANY PLAYER IN THE WORLD. HIDDEN GEMS ARE NO LONGER HIDDEN.]

Michael stared at the screen.

True Value. He could see everything. He could see the next Messi before Messi knew he was Messi.

He looked up at the Director Box.

He imagined his Dad sitting there. He imagined Steve Sterling raising a glass of expensive whiskey.

"I told you Dad," Michael whispered. "I told you we would build a Dynasty."

The music started to play over the speakers. "WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS" even though they were second nobody cared.

Michael walked onto the pitch.

He walked into the chaos. He walked into the arms of his players.

"BOSS!" Higgins roared grabbing him. "WE ARE PREMIER LEAGUE!"

"Yes we are," Michael laughed. "Yes we are."

He looked at Kai Sora who had finally stood up.

"Hey Boss," Kai said. "Does the Premier League have better grass?"

"The best," Michael promised.

"Good," Kai smiled. "Then I will play."

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